Crazy, whacko, out of my mind! take ur pick..love those acts of mine though :D

It's a no-brainer to realize by now that I am a sports nut and especially a huge cricket nut. But most people would be unaware (and might as well stay that way) of the insane things I used to indulge in during my high school and college days when it came to sports. Those days and acts of mine still bring a smile instantly and undoubtedly form a major part of the stories I will narrate in the future..and ya i would not mind if people consider me a weirdo after reading all this..my AIM is that people should understand they have just spoken/met one of the biggest, most passionate and craziest of sports fans. Here's a short list of my acts- some laughable, some embarrassing and some rather atrocious :)

I'll start with the worst ones and get better...

1. Railway station, who cares?-- On numerous occasions when we had to go to the station to pick up cousins and relatives, I always carried a tennis ball. My parents were worried what people looking at me practicing inswingers and leg spin on the platform would think. Little did i care..if there was a ball it was better, else i would still imagine an Imran bowling to Viv and feel bliss..

2. Benaud of Bangalore- if i couldn't bowl at home lest i break some glass, i would turn Benaud/Lawry/Greig all rolled into one..mock Test matches and contests were described with some finesse..add to it imitation of batting and bowling actions and one wouldn't be blamed for assuming something was not right with me..

3. Wimbledon has moved?- how about running Grand Slams in parallel at home?..simulating the matches starting from the first round and five set matches pitting the top seeds against each other. It wasn't always easy to get Edberg's volleys and Sampras' serve right with a table tennis bat and ball..but I did a fair job..frankly this helped me the most when I actually tried playing tennis much much later.

4. exams can take a hike- inevitably the best matches take place mostly during exams. 7th exams- Wc 1996, luckily 10th exams just before WC 1999, but 12th not so lucky- 2001- India Aus- VVS :), engineering almost always had a great series/matches on including the Football WC 2002. Care to take a guess what choice I made..no way could i have given lesser importance to exams than i did those days...

5. poster quizzes- a humongous collection of Sportstars and Wisdens which is still somewhere in my attic, to go with a superb poster collection. I stuck 100s of them in my room to completely cover the walls and the ceiling..only for my mom to pull them down for repainting the house :(. those lovely days when i used to play quizzes for the posters with Raghu and Navneet will stay forever in my mind.

6. Test cricket at 6am is on no matter what- I can take credit for coming up with a fantastic idea to play Test cricket instead of slam-bang stuff. With all rules including lbw, we played some amazing Test cricket from 6-6:30 in the morning all the way till afternoon. The Rajkumar kidnap period in 2000 gave us the best possible chance to play everyday and play we did!!. that phase of my life will remain up there when i finally look back at top moments that i savour..

7. SCG the better drainage system..no way guys!- on numerous occasions, Bangalore's weather created problems for the cricket on weekends. I would return on some days at about 2 or 3am after hanging out with college pals, and then after just 3-4 hours of sleep, would head off to the ground to set it right for play. no super soppers available, so what? Trash rollers were clearly a good replacement. Hari would be the only guy to wake up at 6:30 and help me. The rollers would be used all over the pitch and laying area so as to even the surface and dry it. After about two hours, when the other lazy idiots turned up, the pitch would be perfect to play with just enough moisture for some movement :D...haha!

8. Indispensable? maybe not..but close enough- When I was away in the US, no cricket was played in Bangalore. The day i returned, after few calls, there were 28 guys ready in the ground for some serious Test cricket. I did the same in the US too- organizing a match by making calls to seniors/juniors all through weekends..sometimes I had no time for a shower on sat/sun with innumerable calls coming in to inquire about the prospects of play. Once, I even called people from the airport and got them to the ground to play a match in which I was not gonna play. :D

Ultimately though, my absence in Bangalore led to the beloved ground being converted into a park. Whenever I pass that place, my eyes go moist and I recall those lovely days of cricket and in general those times when the innocent love for all things sport superseded most other trivial pursuits in life (read studies/career etc). My passion for the game and crazy actions at various points might have made it hard to digest for people watching, but little did I care. Even today, nothing gives me more satisfaction than practicing a Michael Holding run up and a Richards flick in the middle of the road:D